A doctor provides care to a patient with Ebola virus disease at the Rwampara Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, July 13, 2026. [AFP]
Scientists have launched the world's first clinical trial to determine whether post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), medicine given after someone has been exposed to a virus but before they develop symptoms, can prevent Bundibugyo Ebola.
The study, known as EBO-PEP, is evaluating an experimental antiviral pill called obeldesivir among people who have had high-risk contact with confirmed Ebola patients, including family members and frontline healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Unlike vaccines, which are administered before exposure, post-exposure prophylaxis is given shortly after contact with the virus in an effort to stop infection before illness begins. If successful, it would become the first proven strategy to prevent Bundibugyo Ebola after exposure, providing health authorities with a new tool to curb outbreaks.
Welcoming the launch of the trial, World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described it as an important milestone.
